By The Associated Press

SALT LAKE CITY – Back with the Boston Celtics again, Antoine Walker played like he couldn’t be happier.

Walker had 24 points and 10 rebounds to help the Celtics outlast the Utah Jazz 109-102 Friday night in his first game back with Boston since being traded by Atlanta.

Though he seemed lost on some of the Celtics’ plays, Walker was Boston’s offensive focal point when he was on the court and led the cheers when he was on the bench.

Ricky Davis dunked to stretch Boston’s lead to 103-95 with 3:07 to play, but the Celtics had to survive a rally. Keith McLeod made a 3-pointer and added a layup with 36 seconds remaining to get the Jazz within 103-102 before Davis and Blount made six straight free throws to break the Celtics’ three-game road skid.

Davis scored 16 of his 17 points in the second half and Delonte West followed his career high of 17 at Denver on Wednesday with 16 points and seven rebounds to help the Celtics overcome Paul Pierce’s foul trouble. Pierce scored 15 points in just 25 minutes.

Andrei Kirilenko scored a season-high 29 points and Matt Harpring added 18 for the Jazz, who have lost six of their last seven games.

Harpring’s jumper gave the Jazz a 79-72 lead late in the third quarter before the Celtics took advantage of a flurry of Jazz errors. Marcus Banks hit a pair of 3-pointers to power a 20-5 Boston run that was capped by a 3 by West to beat the shot clock. The Jazz committed five turnovers and missed three free throws during the spurt, which lifted the Celtics to a 92-82 lead with 8:12 to play.

A first-round draft pick by the Celtics in 1996, Walker, who made 10 of 18 shots, played seven seasons in Boston and paired with Pierce to lead the team to the 2002 Eastern Conference finals.

Boston got Walker back by trading Gary Payton, Tom Gugliotta, Michael Stewart and a future first-round draft pick to Atlanta on Thursday.

The Celtics, who conclude a four-game road trip at Phoenix on Monday, shot 53 percent from the field.

Notes: Walker suited up in uniform No. 88 instead of the familiar No. 8 he wore his first time around as a Celtic. Rookie Al Jefferson wears that number. … Utah’s leading scorer and rebounder, Carlos Boozer, missed his third straight game with a sprained right foot. … Ricky Davis closed his eyes and yelled loudly in frustration “I can’t make a shot” just before halftime. He missed his first eight field goals. … Pierce was voicing his displeasure with a call when Raja Bell said to official Derrick Stafford: “Hey, I’ve got techs for a lot less than that.”

AP-ES-02-26-05 0000EST